Modern Los Angeles Villa

A tranquil California home.

In a modern Los Angeles villa, the tranquil interiors are as sublime as the art on display.

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Geometric Stone

In a modern Los Angeles Villa, the tranquil interiors are as sublime as the art on display. Nestled amid ficus hedges, Italian cypress, and olive trees, designer Daniel Cuevas's latest project has the stately air of a european villa. "You could be in Santa Barbara or Spain or anywhere in the world here," he observes.

A geometric stone driveway lines the front courtyard.

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Calming Classicism

You are, in fact, in Beverly Hills, half a block from Sunset Boulevard, but a universe away from the thrum of the city. "Your blood pressure drops as soon as you step inside and see the greenery all around you," Cuevas says.

Custom pendants, Vaughan.

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Large-scale Art

Yet despite its calming classicism, the home of this California couple with three teenage children is the embodiment of craftsmanship and ingenuity. Cuevas designed the house as a series of courtyards and gallerylike hallways that feature sculpture, large-scale contemporary art, and shapely antique furniture as focal points.

"Everywhere you look there's a different surprise," he explains. In the classical library, for instance, Cuevas commissioned a set of ebonized oak-and-glass bookcases, two of which can be moved on tracks to reveal a gentleman's bar and a separate office.

The most unexpected discovery is that the house, which has the air of having been built in the 1920s and thoughtfully updated, was actually newly constructed three years ago on what was a dirt lot. "When people came over and asked me how long I had been renovating this old house, it was the greatest compliment," Cuevas recalls.

Working with architect Kevin Clark, Cuevas conceived the home as an amalgam of European influences with contemporary proportions, surrounded by lushly landscaped gardens with views from every room through custom iron doors and windows.

As a co-owner of the furniture company Dennis & Leen and the Formations collection of furnishings and accessories, Cuevas travels constantly. "I get my inspiration from hitting the pavement," he says. Indeed, the front courtyard, comprised of black Belgian cobblestones and white pebbles, replicates a rustic plaza he fell in love with in Madrid.

And although the kitchen features a Spanish-style beamed ceiling, the space flirts with Parisian Deco design with a gleaming mix of blackened steel and nickel-accented cabinetry. "The kitchen has such polish and shine, we like to call it 'the jewelry store,'" Cuevas says with a laugh.

"Daniel has an exceptionally gifted eye and uses it for every tiny detail," says the wife, a former interior designer. "He has a fantastic sense of proportion and symmetry and is able to balance beautiful objects in unusual combinations."

Priding himself on not having any one look, Cuevas has a simple design philosophy: "If something has a beautiful shape, it can go anywhere," he declares. "If it looks good today, it will never become dated." Though historic details abound—vintage Spanish-style ventilation registers were replicated in a laser-cut material—the designer employed an otherwise minimalist sensibility.

"The people and the art should be the most important things," he says. "This house without art isn't the same. Each painting has a story; it's a history of the couple's experiences hanging on a wall."Working with a collection that includes pieces by Pablo Picasso, David Hockney, John Baldessari, Ellsworth Kelly, and young emerging talents such as Brian Sharp, Cuevas was sensitive to the owners' brief for "a quiet background for the art." He responded with a palette of grays, crisp white walls, and vivid accent colors used ever so sparsely. "It's more soothing and serene," Cuevas states. "Restraint gives you the freedom to show everything."

Working with a collection that includes pieces by Pablo Picasso, David Hockney, John Baldessari, Ellsworth Kelly, and young emerging talents such as Brian Sharp, Cuevas was sensitive to the owners' brief for "a quiet background for the art." He responded with a palette of grays, crisp white walls, and vivid accent colors used ever so sparsely. "It's more soothing and serene," Cuevas states. "Restraint gives you the freedom to show everything."

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